Anything But Apple Pie
by LizzieHouse
Summary: Sam, Dean, and Maria Winchester never had what you would call a normal life. Hunting the supernatural since their mother's death, the Winchester siblings are anything but "apple pie." Based on the Pilot episode of Supernatural. Maria is my own character, and the middle Winchester sibling, two years younger than Dean and two years older than Sam.
1. Prologue

Mary Winchester carried her two young children down the hallway of their Lawrence, Kansas home. Dean, the oldest at four years old, clutched his sister's hand. The two year old Maria smiled at her big brother and buried her face into her mother's white nightgown.

"Come on, let's say good night to your brother," Mary said softly. She set Dean down on the carpet of the baby's room and she turned on the light. Dean rushes to the crib and looks down at the baby. Mary carries Maria over to the crib and looks down at her youngest son.

"Night, Sam," Dean says, and kisses him on the forehead.

"Nigh-nigh, Sammy," Maria manages to say, leaning over the crib while still in her mother's arms. Mary lets her daughter kiss the baby on the forehead.

"Goodnight, love," Mary says as she pushes Sam's hair back out of his face. She kisses his forehead as well.

"Hey, Dean. Hey, Maria," a man in the doorway greets.

"Daddy!" Dean exclaims, running into John Winchester's arms. Maria struggles in her mother's grasp. Mary places her daughter on the carpet, and Maria races into John's arms as well.

"So, what do you think? You think Sammy's ready to toss around a football yet?" John asked the two children in his arms.

"No, Daddy," Dean says, smiling at the thought of his baby brother playing football.

"Silly Daddy," Maria says, hugging John around the neck.

"No," John laughs, amused by his own joke.

"You got 'em?" Mary asks as she passes John, Dean, and Maria on her way out of Sam's nursery.

"I got 'em," John replies, hugging Dean and Maria closer. "Sweet dreams, Sam." He carries Dean and Maria to the door, switching off the light, then takes Dean and Maria into their shared bedroom to say goodnight.

* * *

Mary hears strange noises coming through the baby monitor. She stirs and turns on the light in her bedroom.

"John?" she asks. She's alone in her bedroom. She gets out of bed and walks down the hallway to Sam's nursery. The silhouette of a man is standing over Sam's crib. "John? Is he hungry?" The man turns his head.

"Shhh," he says.

"All right," Mary replies, heading back into the hallway. The light by the stairs is flickering and Mary taps on it until it stops. Lights flicker downstairs. She goes to investigate the source and finds a war movie on television and a sleeping John in the chair. The man upstairs was not her husband. Mary panics.

"Sammy! Sammy!" she screams. She enters the nursery and stops in the doorway. John, asleep downstairs, wakes up when he hears his wife scream.

"Mary?" he says, hurrying out of the chair and up the stairs to the nursery. "Mary!" he says again, bursting through the closed nursery door. "Mary," he says once more, as he scans the apparently empty room. He looks down at Sam and pushes the side of his crib down.

"Hey, Sammy. You okay?" John asks his youngest son. Something drips next to Sam. John reaches out and touches it. Two more drops land on the back of his hand. It's dark red, like blood. John looks up and sees a horrific sight: Mary sprawled across the ceiling, her stomach red with blood, struggling to breathe. John collapses to the floor of the nursery, staring at his wife pinned to the ceiling.

"No! Mary!" John exclaimed, just as Mary burst into flames, the fire from her body spreading across the ceiling of the nursery. John, horrified by the sight, is broken out of his trance by the sound of baby Sam crying. John lifts himself up and scoops Sam out of his crib, rushing out of the room. Dean and Maria are awake, investigating the source of the noises that woke them up. They stand in the hallway, hand in hand, as John comes rushing out of the nursery with Sam in his arms.

"Daddy!" Dean and Maria say in unison. John shoves Sam into Dean's arms.

"Take your brother and sister outside as fast as you can and don't look back! Now, Dean, go!" John says before turning back to the nursery. Dean does as he is told, carefully holding Sam and making sure Maria is close behind them.

"Mary! No!" John yells. The entire room is engulfed in flames. Mary can barely be seen through the inferno.

"It's okay, Sammy. Everything is going to be okay, Maria," Dean says as he and Maria run outside, Dean carrying baby Sam. They turn to look up at Sam's nursery window, which is gold from the flames inside. John runs outside, scoops Dean, Maria, and Sam into his arms and carries the three of them to a safe distance.

"I gotcha," he says as reassuringly as he can manage as fire explodes out of the nursery window. The Lawrence Fire Department arrives a few minutes later, followed by the police. An officer waves some of the Winchesters' neighbors back away from the blaze.

Across the street from their burning home, John, Dean, and Maria sit on the hood of John's 1967 Chevy Impala. Maria sitting between her father and Dean, who puts a reassuring hand around her back, her head on her father's arm. John holds baby Sam in his arms, staring at the remnants of the fire that was once their home.


	2. Chapter 1

October 31, 2005

Sam Winchester does not do Halloween. Too many bad memories of his strange childhood. He cannot believe his girlfriend is making him do this.

"Sam! Get a move on, would you? We were supposed to be there like fifteen minutes ago." Jessica Moore says, adjusting the hat of her sexy nurse costume. "Sam! You coming or what?"

"Do I have to?" Sam asks his girlfriend, poking his head around the corner of their bedroom door, shaking his shaggy brown hair out of his hazel eyes.

"Yes! It'll be fun," Jess replies. Sam comes into the room, wearing jeans and a t-shirt and most definitely not a costume. "And where's your costume?"

"You know how I feel about Halloween," Sam laughs.

* * *

Jess raises her glass to Sam, who is still not in costume, and their friend at a table in the bar.

"So here's to Sam and his awesome LSAT victory." She says proudly.

"All right, all right, it's not that big a deal," Sam says as he, Jess, and their friend Luis clink glasses.

"Yeah, he acts all humble, but he scored a 174," Jess states. Luis and Sam drink their shots.

"Is that good?" Luis asks, not really sure about any of this.

"Scary good," Jess replied, smiling at her boyfriend before downing her shot.

"So there you go. You are a first-round draft pick. You can go to any law school you want!" Luis says, sitting down next to Sam.

"Actually, I got an interview here. Monday. If it goes okay I think I got a shot at a full ride next year." Sam tells the small group.

"Hey. It's gonna go great," Jess says reassuringly.

"It better," Sam replies.

"How does it feel to be the golden boy of your family?" Luis asks, just to be saying something.

"Ah, they don't know," Sam says.

"Oh, no, I would be gloating! Why not?" Luis asks.

"Because we're not exactly the Bradys."

"And I'm not exactly the Huxtables. More shots?"

"No," Sam and Jess say in chorus. Luis goes up to the bar anyway, leaving Sam and Jess alone at their table.

"No, seriously. I'm proud of you. And you're gonna knock 'em dead on Monday and you're gonna get that full ride. I know it." Jess beams.

"What would I do without you?" Sam asks, smiling lovingly at Jess.

"Crash and burn," Jess smiles, pulling Sam in for a congratulatory kiss.

* * *

Sam hears the sound of a window opening in the apartment. He gets out of bed, careful not to wake the sleeping Jess, and walks out of the bedroom. He looks around the apartment and sees a window open that he was sure he had closed before he and Jess went to bed. Sam hears what sounds like two sets of footsteps and he moves into the shadows to wait for the intruders. Two people, a man and a woman from the looks of their silhouettes, enter the room.

Sam lunges at the man, grabbing his shoulder. The man easily knocks Sam's hand off of his shoulder and aims a blow at Sam, who ducks just in time. The man grabs Sam by the arm and swings him around, shoving him back. Sam kicks at the attacker, but is blocked and pushed into another room. The woman follows the show. The man elbows Sam in the face, but Sam kicks at his head. The man ducks and takes a swing at Sam, who blocks the blow. The woman sticks her foot out as Sam is backing up, tripping him. Sam lands flat on his back. The man pins him to the floor, one hand on Sam's neck and the other on his wrist. The woman leans over Sam's face upside-down, her hands on his shoulders.

"Whoa, easy, tiger," the woman says, smiling, her long dark hair tickling Sam's face.

"Maria? Dean?" Sam asks, thoroughly confused and winded. Dean and Maria laugh. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"That's 'cause you're out of practice," Dean retorts, still smiling. The smile is short-lived as Sam grabs Dean's hand and yanks it, slamming his heel into Dean's back as he sits up quickly, knocking Maria backwards and forcing Dean onto the floor. "Or not. Get off of me."

Sam rolls onto his feet, offering a hand first to Maria and then to Dean.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Well, we _were_ looking for beers," Dean replied, as Maria hugged Sam, patting his back twice before letting go. Dean put his hands on Sam's shoulders after Maria pulled away, shook him once, and let go.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Sam asks again.

"Okay. All right. We gotta talk," Maria said seriously, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Uh, the phone?" Sam said with a bit of annoyance.

"If we'd'a called, would you have picked up?" Maria asked, her dark brown eyes narrowing a bit at her baby brother.

"Sam?" Jess asks as she turns on the lights. She is wearing nothing but very short shorts and a cropped Smurfs shirt as her pajamas. Sam, Dean, and Maria turn their heads in unison.

"Jess. Hey. Dean, Maria, this is my girlfriend, Jessica," Sam introduces her. Dean looks at her appreciatively, and Maria smiles at her kindly, embarrassed for her in advance.

"Wait, your brother Dean? And your sister Maria?" Jess asks, smiling. Sam nods as Dean grins at Jess and moves closer to her.

"Oh, I love the Smurfs. You know, I gotta tell you. You are completely out of my brother's league." Dean says, laying on the patented Winchester Charm, green eyes shining with mischief. Maria rolls her eyes at her older brother and mouths a small "sorry" to Jess.

"Just let me put something on," Jess says, turning to go, but Dean's voice stops her.

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously," Dean says, walking back over to Sam and Maria without taking his eyes off of Jess. Sam watches his brother with a stony expression. "Anyway, we gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business."

"But, uh, nice meeting you," Maria finished for Dean, smiling apologetically at Jess.

"No," Sam says, walking over to stand next to Jess, putting his arm around her. "No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her."

"Okay," Maria says, looking at Sam and Jess straight on. "Um. Dad hasn't been home in a few days."

"So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later," Sam replied, unfazed by his sister's words.

"Dad's on a hunting trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days," Dean clarified. Sam's expression doesn't change as he hears this new development. Jess, confused, glances up at her boyfriend.

"Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside."


	3. Chapter 2

Dean and Maria wait as Sam puts on jeans and a hoodie. When Sam returns, they head downstairs.

"I mean, come on. You can't just break in, middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you," Sam said, a little annoyed.

"You're not hearing us, Sammy. Dad's missing. We need you to help us find him," Dean reasoned with his brother.

"You remember the poltergeist in Amherst? Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He's always missing, and he's always fine," Sam argued. Dean and Maria stop and turn around, stopping Sam in his tracks.

"Not for this long. Now are you gonna come with us or not?" Maria was getting irritated with Sam.

"I'm not."

"Why not?" Dean and Maria asked in unison.

"I swore I was done hunting. For good."

"Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad," Dean said as they start down the stairs again.

"Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." Sam says, making Dean and Maria stop at the door leading outside.

"Well, what was he supposed to do?" Maria asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"I was nine years old! He was supposed to say, don't be afraid of the dark," Sam said a bit more loudly than he had meant.

"Don't be afraid of the dark? Are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark. You know what's out there," Dean said even more loudly than Sam.

"Yeah, I know, but still. The way we grew up, after Mom was killed, and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her…But we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything we _can_ find," Sam replied a little sadly.

"We save a lot of people doing it, too," Maria said proudly.

"You think Mom would have wanted this for us? Sam asked seriously. Dean and Maria both roll their eyes before slamming the door open and climbing the short flight of stairs to the parking lot. "The weapons training, and melting the silver into bullets? Man, you guys, we were raised like warriors."

"So what are you gonna do?" Dean asks as they all cross the parking lot to the '67 Impala. "You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?"

"No. Not normal. Safe."

"And that's why you ran away," Maria countered, looking away from her younger brother.

"I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go, I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing."

"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already. I can feel it," Dean said, trying to reason with Sam. Sam doesn't say anything.

"We can't do this alone," Maria says.

"Yes, you can," Sam tells her.

"Yeah, well, we don't want to," Dean says simply. Sam sighs, thinking, then looks up at his older siblings.

"What was he hunting?" Sam asks as Dean opens up the trunk of the Impala, lifting up the spare-tire compartment and revealing an arsenal of weapons. Maria props it open with a shotgun while Dean digs through the mess.

"All right, let's see, where the hell did I put that thing?" Dean mumbles to himself.

"So when Dad left, why didn't you two go with him?"

"We were working our own gig. This, uh, voodoo thing, down in New Orleans," Maria replied.

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourselves?" Sam asked, interested.

"I'm twenty-six, dude," Dean says, as if it's obvious.

"And I'm 24. I think we're old enough to handle ourselves," Maria says as Dean pulls some papers out of a folder in the arsenal.

"All right, here we go. So Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California," Dean tells his youngest sibling.

"About a month ago, this guy," Maria says as Dean hands Sam one of the papers, "They found his car, but he vanished. Completely MIA."

Sam reads the paper Dean handed him. It is a printout of an article from the _Jericho Herald_ with the headline "Centennial Highway Disappearance" dated September 19, 2005. The picture of the man is captioned "Andrew Carey MISSING." Sam glances up at his brother and sister.

"So maybe he was kidnapped," Sam reasoned, hoping that this wasn't their kind of gig.

"Yeah. Well, here's another one in April," Dean says, handing Sam yet another printout of an article from the _Jericho Herald_.

"Another one in December '03, '98, '92, ten of them over the past twenty years," Maria tells Sam. Dean takes the article in Sam's hand and puts it back in the folder with the rest of the stack. "All men, all the same five-mile stretch of road."

"It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. We haven't heard from him since, which is bad enough," Dean says as he digs in a bag in the arsenal. He grabs a tape recorder. "Then I got this voicemail yesterday."

Dean presses play on the tape recorder. The recording sounds staticky and it sounded like the call was breaking up.

"Dean…something big is starting to happen…I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may…Be very careful, Dean. Watch...Maria. We're all in danger." Dean presses stop on the tape recorder.

"You know there's EVP on that?" Sam asks.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike isn't it?" Maria says proudly. Sam just shakes his head.

"All right. I slowed the message down and ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what we got," Dean says before pressing play again.

"I can never go home…" a woman's voice says sadly over the recording. Dean presses stop.

"Never go home," Sam says, thinking. Dean drops the recorder back in the arsenal. Maria moves the shotgun and shuts the trunk. Both Dean and Maria lean against the back of the Impala.

"You know, in almost two years we've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing," Maria says, trying to guilt her little brother into coming with them on their rescue mission. Sam looks away from his sister's pleading gaze and sighs, finally looking back at his siblings.

"All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him," Sam says finally. Dean just nods and Maria smiles and hugs her baby brother. "But I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here."

Sam turns to go back into the apartment, but stops and turns around when Maria speaks.

"What's first thing Monday?"

"I have this…I have an interview."

"What, a job interview?" Dean asks incredulously. "Skip it."

"It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate."

"Law school?" Dean and Maria chorus. They have identical smirks on their faces.

"So we got a deal or not?" Sam asks seriously. Dean and Maria say nothing.

* * *

Sam walks back into his apartment and into his and Jess's bedroom. He starts to pack a duffle bag, pulling out a large hook-shaped knife and sliding it into his bag. Jess comes into the room.

"Wait, you're taking off?" she asks, surprised. Sam looks up at her. "Is this about your dad? Is he all right?"

"Yeah. You know, just a little family drama," Sam replies going over to his dresser and turning on the lamp.

"Your brother said he was on some kind of hunting trip," Jess says, sitting on the bed as Sam rummages in one of the drawers, putting a couple of shirts into his duffle bag.

"Oh, yeah, he's just deer hunting up at the cabin. He's probably got Jim, Jack, and Jose along with him. I'm just going to go bring him back."

"What about the interview?" Jess asked, concerned that he might miss it.

"I'll make the interview. This is only for a couple days," Sam replies, walking around the bed, Jess getting up and following him.

"Sam, I mean, please. Just stop for a second," Jess says. Sam stops and turns to look at her. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Sam laughs.

"It's just…you won't even talk about your family. And now you're taking off in the middle of the night to spend a weekend with them? And with Monday coming up, which is kind of a huge deal…"

"Hey. Everything is going to be okay. I will be back in time, I promise," Sam kisses her cheek and leaves.

"At least tell me where you're going."


	4. Chapter 3

Dean, Maria, and Sam have been in the car all night. Dean is driving, Sam is in the front passenger seat, and Maria sits in the middle of the backseat, right between her brothers. She didn't complain when Sammy called shotgun; she's used to sitting in the back. That's how it always was when her whole family went hunting: Dad driving, Dean in the front seat beside him, Maria and Sam in the backseat.

Maria is a creature of comfort. That's why she wears the clothes she does: low-cut dusky colored t-shirts underneath one of Dean's plaid button downs, her own ripped jeans, and motorcycle boots. Sometimes she'll wear an old army jacket. Her long dark hair is almost always in a ponytail when they're on a job. Having her hair out of her face helps her focus, and focusing is key in their line of work.

It's pretty early in the morning when they make it about 15 miles outside of Jericho, stopping to get some fuel for the Impala and for themselves. Maria is lounging in the backseat with the back passenger side window open, twisting an open pocketknife in her hands while Sam sits in the front seat with the door open, looking through a box of cassette tapes. Dean comes out of the convenience store carrying a bunch of junk food.

"Hey!" Dean calls to his siblings. Sam leans out the open door and looks at him while Maria sits up and leans out the open window. "You want breakfast?"

"Brother, dearest, you know I do," Maria says happily, grabbing the fruit pie her brother offers to her.

"No, thanks," Sam says, a little disgusted at the thought of junk food for breakfast. "So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?"

"Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career," Dean says as he finishes pumping gas.

"Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards," Maria reasons.

"Yeah? And what names did you write on the application this time?" Sam asks, leaning back into the car and closing the door.

"Uh, Burt Aframian," Dean says, getting into the driver seat and putting down his breakfast before closing the door. "And his son Hector and daughter Elizabeth. Scored three cards out of the deal."

"That sounds about right," Sam says. "I swear, you guys, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection."

"Why?" Maria asks, her mouth full of sweet cherry pie.

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes. And two," Sam says, holding up a tape for every band he names. "Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

"Well, house rules, Sammy," Dean says, taking the Metallica tape from Sam and popping it into the tape player. "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole."

Maria laughs approvingly as Dean drops the Metallica box back into the collection of tapes and starts the engine.

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old," Sam says, just for clarification. "It's Sam, okay?"

"Sorry, we can't hear you, the music's too loud," Maria says as Dean turns up the volume and drives out of the gas station.

* * *

Jericho – 7 miles

"Thank you," Sam says into his cell phone, before hanging up. "All right, so there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something, I guess."

Dean and Maria glance at Sam, and then back to the road. There are two police cars and several officers at the bridge ahead of them.

"Check it out," Dean says. Sam and Maria lean forward to get a closer look. Dean pulls over and they all take a good look before he turns off the engine. Dean opens the glove compartment and pulls out a box filled with ID cards with his, Maria's and John's faces. He pulls out two, one each for him and Maria, and grins at Sam, who just stares at his brother.

"Let's go," Maria says, grinning at her brothers. She, Dean, and Sam get out of the car.

"No sign of a struggle, no footprints, no fingerprints. Spotless. It's almost too clean," a deputy says. Dean, Maria, and Sam walk into the crime scene like they belong there.

"So, this kid Troy. He's dating your daughter, isn't he?" another deputy asks the first.

"Yeah."

"How's Amy doing?"

"She's putting up missing posters downtown."

"You fellas had another one like this just last month, didn't you?" Maria asks. The second deputy looks up.

"And who are you?" he asks. Dean and Maria flash their badges.

"Federal marshals," Dean replies easily.

"You three are a little young for marshals, aren't you?" the deputy asks.

"Thanks, that's awfully kind of you," Maria says, letting out a small laugh and smiling dangerously. She and Dean walk over to the car.

"You did have another one just like this, correct?" Dean asks, inspecting the car.

"Yeah, that's right. About a mile up the road. There've been others before that," the deputy replied.

"So, this victim, you knew him?" Sam asked.

"Town like this, everybody knows everybody," the deputy nods. Dean and Maria circle the car, looking around.

"Any connection between the victims, besides that they're all men?" Maria asks seriously.

"No. not so far as we can tell," the deputy tells them honestly.

"So what's the theory?" Sam asks, walking over to Dean and Maria.

"Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?"

"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys," Dean says condescendingly. Sam stomps on Dean's foot.

"Thank you for your time," Sam says, walking away. Dean and Maria follow. "Gentlemen."

The deputy watches the three of them walk away. Dean smacks Sam on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sam exclaimed.

"Why'd you have to step on my foot?"

"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?" Sam asks as Dean looks at him and he moves in front of him and Maria, forcing them to stop walking.

"Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad, we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves," Dean explains.

"Um, guys," Maria clears her throat. She's looking at something over Dean's shoulder. Dean turns and sees the Sheriff and two FBI agents.

"Can I help you three?" the Sheriff asks Sam, Dean, and Maria.

"No, sir, we were just leaving," Maria replied, giving him a charming smile.

"Agent Mulder. Agent Scully," Dean says, nodding to each of the passing FBI agents. Dean, Maria, and Sam head back to the car, past the Sheriff, who turns to watch them go.


	5. Chapter 4

Dean, Maria, and Sam walk down the streets of downtown Jericho, looking for the missing boy's girlfriend. They pass the Highland Movie Theater. The marquee reads: "EMERGENCY TOWN HALL MEETING. SUNDAY 8 PM. BE SAFE OUT THERE." They see a young woman putting up posters with Troy's face on them and a caption reading "MISSING TROY SQUIRE."

"I'll bet you that's her," Dean says as they approach her.

"Yeah," Sam and Maria chorus. The three of them walk up to the young woman, Maria in the lead.

"You must be Amy," Maria says with a small smile.

"Yeah," she replies, a bit confused.

"Yeah, Troy told us about you. I'm his aunt, and they're his uncles. I'm Maria, this is Dean, and that's Sammy," Maria says, gesturing first to herself, then to each of her brothers.

"He never mentioned you to me," Amy says, walking away. Sam, Dean, and Maria walk with her.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess," Dean replies. "We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."

"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around," Sam finishes as another young woman approaches Amy and puts a hand on her arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" the second woman asks.

"Yeah," Amy replies a bit sadly.

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?" Sam asks.

* * *

The five of them are sitting in a booth. Maria and Dean opposite the two women, and Sam in a chair he has pulled up to the end of the table.

"I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and…he never did," Amy finished.

"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asks.

"No. Nothing I can remember," Amy replies, shaking her head.

"I like your necklace," Maria tells Amy. Amy holds the pendant, a pentagram in a circle, and looks down at it.

"Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents with all that devil stuff," Amy replies, letting out a small, sad laugh. Sam laughs a little, too, and Dean and Maria look over.

"Actually, it means just the opposite," Sam says. "A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."

"Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries," Dean says, taking his arm off the back of Maria's seat and leaning forward.

"Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything…" Dean says to the girls across from him. Amy and her friend look at each other.

"What is it?" Maria asks, noticing the looks on their faces.

"Well, it's just…I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk," Amy's friend says.

"What do they talk about?" Sam, Dean, and Maria all ask in unison.

"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago," she replies as Dean and Maria look at each other and then at Sam, who is watching Amy's friend attentively, nodding. "Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up…well, they disappear forever."

Sam, Dean, and Maria look at each other. This is definitely their kind of gig.

* * *

Dean, Maria, and Sam head to the Jericho library to do a little research on the murdered woman. Dean sits at the computer, looking at the archive search page for the _Jericho Herald_. He types in "Female Murder Hitchhiking" and clicks go. There are zero results. He then types in "Female Murder Centennial Highway," again with no results. Sam and Maria sit on either side of him, watching.

"Let me try," Sam says. Dean smacks Sam's hand away.

"I got it," he says irritably. Sam shoves Dean's chair out of the way and into Maria as he takes over the computer.

"Dude!" Dean and Maria say as Maria hits Sam on the shoulder.

"You're such a control freak," she says rubbing the arm that Dean was shoved into.

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" Sam asks, ignoring his sister's words.

"Yeah," Dean and Maria chorus.

"Well, maybe it's not murder," Sam says simply, replacing the word "Murder" with "Suicide" in the search box. An article pops up, entitled "Suicide on Centennial." Dean and Maria glance at Sam as Sam opens the article, dated April 25, 1981. "This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river."

"Does it say why she did it?" Deans asks.

"Yeah."

"What?" Dean and Maria ask in unison.

"An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die," Sam replies. Dean and Maria raise their eyebrows.

"Hmm," Maria says thoughtfully.

"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch," Sam read.

"That bridge look familiar to you?" Dean asked Sam and Maria.

* * *

Dean, Maria, and Sam arrive at Sylvania Bridge that night. The three of them walk along the bridge, then stop, leaning on the railing and looking down at the river.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive," Dean comments.

"So you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asks, looking over at Dean and Maria.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him," Dean replies, continuing to walk down the bridge, Maria and Sam following behind him.

"Okay, so now what?" Sam asks.

"Now we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while," Maria replies. Sam stops suddenly.

"Maria, Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday," Sam says. Dean and Maria turn around to face their youngest sibling.

"Monday. Right. The interview," Maria says, remembering suddenly.

"Yeah," Sam says.

"Yeah, we forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Dean asks. "You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?"

"Maybe. Why not?"

"Does Jessica know the truth about you?" Maria asks seriously. "I mean, does she know about the things you've done?"

"No," Sam says, stepping closer to his older siblings. "And she's not ever going to know."

"Well, that's healthy," Dean says sarcastically, and then he became serious, turning around to keep walking. Sam and Maria follow. "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are."

"And who's that?" Sam asks with defiance.

"You're one of us," Maria says with finality. Sam hurries to get in front of Dean and Maria.

"No. I'm not like the both of you," Sam says. "This is not going to be my life."

"You have a responsibility to-" Dean starts, but Sam cuts him off.

"To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back."

Maria gasps, completely shocked that Sam could say something so horrible. Dean grabs Sam by the collar and shoves him against the railing of the bridge. There is a pause where nobody says anything, nobody _can_ say anything.

"Don't talk about her like that," Dean says, his voice full of warning. He lets Sam go and walks away, Maria following behind him. She spots Constance standing at the edge of the bridge.

"Guys," she says. Sam comes to stand beside her and Dean. Constance looks over at them, then steps off the edge of the bridge. Sam, Dean, and Maria run to the railing and look over.

"Where'd she go?" Dean asks.

"I don't know," Sam and Maria chorus. Behind them, they hear the Impala's engine start. They turn around and see the headlights come on.

"What the—" Dean says, thoroughly confused.

"Who's driving your car?" Sam asks cautiously. Dean reaches into his pocket and takes out his keys, jingling them at his siblings. Maria and Sam glance at the keys, and then back at the Impala, which was heading straight for them. They turn and run.

"Dean?" Maria screams. "Go! Go!"

The car speeds toward them, nearly running them over. Sam, Dean, and Maria dive over the railing of the bridge and the Impala screeches to a halt.


	6. Chapter 5

Sam managed to grab ahold of the edge of the bridge with his right hand, and catch Maria's right hand with his left. Dean wasn't so lucky. He had plunged into the water below.

"Dean?" Sam yells for his brother. "Dean!"

"What?" asks a filthy and annoyed Dean as he crawls out of the water and onto the mud, panting for air.

"Hey! Are you all right?" Maria asks, just relieved to hear her older brother's voice.

"I'm super," Dean says, holding up the A-OK sign with one hand. Sam and Maria laugh.

"You know, I'm not sure I can help you up here," Sam tells his sister.

"Just drop me," Maria says with a small giggle. "I'll be fine. Disgusting like Dean, but fine."

"Are you sure?" Sam asks. Maria just nods. Sam lets go of her hand and she plummets into the murky water below. She comes up a few seconds later, muddy but unharmed, and not nearly as gross as Dean had been. She crawls out of the water and into the mud beside her older brother. They both make their way back to the bridge, occasionally sticking in the mud. Sam lifts himself onto the bridge and waits for his older siblings to join him.

Dean opens the trunk of the Impala and gets out two towels, handing one to Maria. They wipe the worst of the mud off of themselves. Dean takes Maria's towel from her and throws both towels into the trunk and shuts it. He then makes his way to the hood of the car, opening it up and checking for any damage that Constance might have caused to his pride and joy. He shuts the hood and leans on it after a thorough inspection. Maria joins him.

"Your car all right?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a _**bitch**_!" Dean yells, as if Constance can hear him.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure. So where's the job go from here, geniuses?" Sam asks, leaning on the hood next to Dean and Maria. Maria and Dean throw up their arms in frustration, and flick what's left of the mud off of their hands. Sam sniffs and looks at his siblings. "You two smell like toilets."

* * *

Early the next morning, Dean, Maria, and Sam check into a motel. Dean puts his credit card with the name Hector Aframian on the guest ledger.

"One room, please," Dean says. He and Maria are still filthy. Sam stands behind them, trying not to smell the dried mud still covering them. The clerk behind the counter picks up the credit card and looks at it.

"You guys having a reunion or something?" the clerk asks.

"What do you mean?" asks Sam.

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month." the clerk replies. Maria, Sam, and Dean look at each other.

* * *

Sam picked the lock to their father's motel room. He opens the door and walks in, hiding the picks. Dean and Maria are standing on either side of the door, playing lookout. Sam reaches out of the room and puts a hand on each of their shoulders, yanking them inside. He closes the door behind them. The three of them look around the room. There are papers pinned to every wall: maps, newspaper clippings, pictures, notes. Books on the desk, and junk on the floor and bed.

"Whoa," Sam says, surprised. Dean turns on a light by the bed and picks up a half-eaten hamburger sitting on the bedside table. He sniffs it and recoils.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least," Dean says, as Sam touches the salt on the floor. He looks up.

"Salt, cats-eye shells…he was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in," Sam says. Maria has been looking at the papers covering one wall. "What have you got here?"

"Centennial Highway victims," she replies, still studying the wall, trying to make sense of it. Sam nods, coming over to her with Dean. "I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?"

Sam walks over to another wall covered in papers. There's a note that says "Woman in White" above a printout of the article about Constance's suicide. Sam turns on another lamp.

"Dad figured it out," he says. Dean and Maria turn to look at Sam.

"What do you mean?" Dean asks.

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white." says Sam. Dean and Maria look at the photos of Constance's victims.

"You sly dogs," Dean says with a slight grin. Dean and Maria turn back to Sam.

"All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it," Maria says.

"She might have another weakness," Sam replied.

"Well, Dad would want to make sure," Dean added, he and Maria walking over to Sam. "He'd dig her up."

"Does it say where she's buried?" Maria asks Sam.

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband." replies Sam, taping the picture of Joseph Welch in the article. "If he's still alive. He'd be about sixty-four now."

"All right. Why don't you, uh, see if you can find an address. I'm gonna get cleaned up," Maria says, heading toward the door to go to their motel room. Dean nods and heads to the bathroom in their Dad's room.

"Hey, Dean? Maria?" Sam says. Dean and Maria stop and turn toward their baby brother. "What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry."

"No chick-flick moments. Leave that to Maria," Dean says, holding up his hands. Maria scoffs at her older brother, sticking her tongue out at him. Sam laughs and nods.

"All right. Jerk," he says.

"Bitch," replies Dean.

"Asses," Maria finishes. Sam and Dean laugh. Maria and Dean both disappear, going their separate ways to get cleaned up.

Sam, alone in the room, notices a photograph stuck to the mirror in the motel room. It's a photo of John Winchester sitting on the hood of the Impala, next to a boy in a baseball cap on his left, a younger girl with wavy dark hair in her father's aviator sunglasses on his right, and an even younger boy on John's lap. Sam takes the picture off the mirror and smiles sadly at his family.


	7. Chapter 6

Sam paces back and forth in the motel room, holding his phone to his ear. He sits down on the bed, listening to his voicemail.

"Hey, it's me, it's about 10:20 Saturday night," Jess's voice comes through the phone. Dean comes out of the bathroom, finally clean. He grabs his jacket and shrugs it on.

"Hey, man. I'm starving. I'm gonna grab a little something to eat in that diner down the street. You want anything?"

"No," Sam replies.

"Aframian's buying," Dean teases. Sam just shakes his head.

Dean leaves the motel room, seeing Maria come out of their rented room, pulling her jacket on has she walks toward her brother.

"I finally got all that mud out of my hair," Maria says. She notices Dean looking past her. She turns and sees a police car, and the motel clerk is talking to the deputies. The clerk points at Dean and Maria. They both turn away and Dean pulls out his cell phone, dialing Sam's number.

* * *

"So just come home soon, okay?" Jess's voice finishes on the voicemail. "I love you."

Sam's phone beeps. He looks at it, confused, and presses a button, putting the phone back to his ear.

"What?" he asks.

"Dude, five-oh, take off," Dean says into the receiver. Sam stands up from his seat on the bed.

"What about you? And where's Maria?"

"Uh, they kinda spotted us. Go find Dad." Dean hangs up the phone as the deputies approach him and Maria. They both turn and grin at them.

"Problem, officers?" Maria asks, smiling sweetly.

"Where's your partner?" one of them asks.

"Partner? What, what partner?" Dean asks innocently. One of the deputies glances over his shoulder and jerks his thumb toward the motel room. The other deputy heads in that direction. Dean and Maria fidget. Sam sees the deputy heading his way and darts away from the window.

"So. Fake U.S. Marshals. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?" the remaining deputy asks Dean and Maria.

"Our boobs," Maria says. She and Dean grin. The deputy slams them over the hood of the cop car.

"You have the right to remain silent…"

* * *

The sheriff enters the room carrying a box. He sets the box on the table in front of Dean and Maria. He walks around the table to face them.

"So you want to give us your real names?"

"We told you, I'm Nugent. Ted Nugent. And she's Jett. Joan Jett," Dean says with a smile.

"I'm not sure you realize just how much trouble you two are in here."

"We talkin', like, misdemeanor kind of trouble or, uh, squeal like a pig trouble?" Dean asks, thoroughly enjoying this.

"You got the faces of ten missing persons taped to your wall," the sheriff says. Dean and Maria look away. "Along with a whole lot of Satanic mumbo-jumbo. You two are officially suspects."

"That makes sense," Maria says sarcastically. "Because when the first one went missing in '82, I was one, and he was three."

"I know you've got partners. One of 'em's an older guy. Maybe he started the whole thing. So tell me. Dean. Maria," the sheriff says, tossing a brown leather journal on the table. "This his?"

Dean and Maria stare at the journal. The sheriff picks it back up and starts to flip through it. The journal is filled with clippings from newspapers, notes, and pictures.

"I thought that might be your names. See, I leafed through this. What little I could make out—I mean, it's nine kinds of crazy," the sheriff continues. Maria and Dean lean forward to get a closer look at the journal. "But I found this, too."

The sheriff opens the journal to a page with "Dean – Maria 35-111" circled, with nothing else on the page.

"Now. You two are stayin' right here till you tell me exactly what the hell that means," the sheriff says threateningly. Dean and Maria stare down at the page, then look up.

* * *

Sam knocks on the door of a grimy house in Jericho. An old man opens the door.

"Hi. Are you Joseph Welch?" Sam asks.

"Yeah," the old man replies.

Sam and Joseph walk down the driveway that is filled with old junk. Joseph holds the photo Sam found on the mirror in John's room.

"Yeah, he was older, but that's him," Joseph says, handing the picture back to Sam. "He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter."

"That's right. We're working on a story together."

"Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on. The questions he asked me..."

"About your wife Constance?"

"He asked me where she was buried."

"And where is that again?"

"What, I gotta go through this twice?"

"It's fact-checking. If you don't mind."

"In a plot. Behind my old place over on Breckenridge."

"And why did you move?"

"I'm not gonna live in a house where my children died," Joseph says. Sam stops walking. Joseph stops too.

"Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?"

"No way. Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known."

"So you had a happy marriage?" Sam asks. Joseph hesitates before answering.

"Definitely."

"Well, that should do it. Thanks for your time," Sam says, turning toward the Impala. Joseph walks away. Sam waits a few seconds, then looks back up at Joseph. "Mr. Welch, did you ever hear of a woman in white?

"A what?" Joseph asks, turning around to face Sam.

"A woman in white. Or sometimes weeping woman?" Sam says. Joseph just stares blankly at him. Sam walks back toward Joseph and stops in front of him. "It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really. Um, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately Arizona, Indiana. All these different women. You understand. But all share the same story."

"Boy, I don't care much for nonsense," Joseph says, walking away. Sam follows him.

"See, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them," Sam says. Joseph stops and turns around slowly. "And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again."

"You think…you think that has something to do with…Constance? You smartass!"

"You tell me."

"I mean, maybe…maybe I made some mistakes. But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And don't come back!" He turns away shaking, whether from anger or grief, Sam can't tell. Sam sighs.

* * *

Dean and Maria are sitting side by side in the sheriff's office, still being interrogated about the "Dean – Maria 35-111" page in the leather journal. It's been hours, but they're still enjoying irritating the officer.

"I don't know how many times we've gotta tell you," Maria says again. "It's our high school locker combo. We shared it."

"We gonna do this all night long?" the sheriff asks, getting irritated with their answers. A deputy leans into the room.

"We just got a 911, shots fired over at Whiteford Road."

"Either of you have to go to the bathroom?" the sheriff asks Dean and Maria.

"No," they answer in unison.

"Good," the sheriff says, handcuffing Dean and Maria to the table before leaving. Maria sees a paper clip sticking out of the journal. She pulls it out, and she and Dean look at it. A few moments later, as the sheriff and deputy are getting ready to leave, they are out of the handcuffs. Maria and Dean watch through the window, duck out of sight as the deputy approaches the door, and wait. Once the coast is clear, they climb down the fire escape, carrying John's journal.


	8. Chapter 7

Sam is driving the Impala down a Jericho highway when his cellphone rings. He pulls it out and answers it. It's Maria in a phone booth. Her phone had been confiscated in the sheriff's office and she didn't steal it back.

"Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal."

"You're welcome," Sam grins.

"Listen, we gotta talk."

"Tell me about it. So the husband _was_ unfaithful. We _are_ dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house, so that should have been Dad's next stop."

"Sammy, would you shut up for a second?"

"I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed the corpse yet."

"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. He's gone. Dad left Jericho."

"What? How do you know?"

"We've got his journal."

"He doesn't go anywhere without that thing."

"Yeah, well, he did this time."

"What's it say?"

"Ah, the same old ex-Marine crap he uses when he wants to let us know where he's going," Maria replies. Dean stands beside her, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Coordinates," Sam says. "Where to?"

"We're not sure yet," Maria says into the receiver, glancing at her older brother.

"I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? What the hell is going on?" Sam asks. Looking up, he sees Constance standing on the road in front of him. He slams on the brakes, and drops his phone. The car goes through Constance as Sam stops it.

"Sam? Sam!" Maria says. She shares a worried look with Dean.

Inside the Impala, Sam is breathing hard. He looks in the rearview mirror and sees Constance sitting in the backseat.

"Take me home," she says sadly.

* * *

"Take me home!" Constance says more forcefully.

"No," Sam replies. Constance glares at him and the doors lock themselves. Sam tries to unlock them. The gas pedal presses down and the car begins to move forward, steering itself. Sam tries to take back control of the Impala, but to no avail. Constance flickers in the backseat.

The Impala pulls up in front of Constance's old house on Breckenridge Road and stops. The engine shuts itself off.

"Don't do this," Sam pleads with the ghost.

"I can never go home," Constance says sadly, flickering.

"You're scared to go home," Sam says, looking back and seeing that Constance is no longer there. He looks around and sees her in the passenger seat. Constance climbs into his lap and shoves him back against the seat, hard enough to make it recline. Sam struggles beneath her.

"Hold me," Constance says seductively. "I'm so cold."

"You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful. I've never been!"

"You will be. Just hold me," Constance says menacingly.

She kisses Sam, who continues to struggle against her, reaching for the keys. She pulls back and flickers again, revealing a horrible monster behind her beautiful face before disappearing completely. Sam looks around then yells in pain, yanking open his hoodie. He looks down and sees five holes burning through the fabric of his shirt, each hole matching one of Constance's fingers. She flickers in front of him, reaching her hand into his chest.

A gunshot goes off, shattering the driver side window of the Impala. The sound startles Constance. Dean and Maria approach the car, Dean still firing at her. Constance glares at the pair of them, flickering once again. Dean keeps shooting at her until she disappears again. Sam finally manages to sit up, starting the car.

"I'm taking you home," Sam says to Constance. He drives forward, Dean and Maria staring after the car. Sam crashes the car into the side of the house. Maria and Dean hurry through the wreckage of Constance's old home.

"Sam! Sam!" Maria says worriedly. "You okay?"

"I think…" Sam manages.

"Can you move?" Dean asks.

"Yeah," Sam replies. "Help me?"

Maria tries to move some of the wreckage out of the way so that Dean can open the door for Sam. Meanwhile, Constance picks up a framed photograph of a family. The woman in the photograph is Constance, and the children with her are hers. Maria manages to move enough of the debris out of the way for the car door to open. Dean reaches in and pulls Sam out.

"There you go," Dean says, helping his baby brother out of the car, carefully avoiding the rubble of the house while Maria closes the car door. The three Winchesters look around and see Constance looking up at them. She glares and throws the picture down onto the floor. A bureau scoots toward Sam, Dean, and Maria, pinning them against the Impala. They struggle against it, but it doesn't budge.

The lights flicker and Constance looks around her old home, frightened. She sees water pouring down the staircase. Constance walks over to it, looking at the landing. The young boy and girl from the photograph, her children, hold hands and speak in unison.

"You've come home to us, Mommy," they say. Constance looks at them, distraught. The two young children suddenly appear behind her, hugging her tightly. She screams at their touch and flickers. Constance and her two children melt into a puddle on the floor, Constance's screams still echoing through the house. Sam, Dean, and Maria are finally able to shove the bureau away from them. They go inspect the spot where Constance and the children vanished.

"So this is where she drowned her kids," Dean muses.

"That's why she could never go home," Sam replies, nodding. "She was too scared to face them."

"You found her weak spot," Maria says, smiling. "Nice work, Sammy."

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you," Sam says, turning to his brother. "What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey. Saved your ass," Dean replies. "I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car…"

"We'll kill you," Maria finishes. Dean nods in agreement and Sam laughs.

* * *

The Impala speeds down the road, the right headlight out. Dean cursed under his breath when he saw the extent of the damage to the car; it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be after crashing through a house, but still. Any damage was too much damage. Sam sits in the passenger seat, the journal open to the page "Dean – Maria 35-111" and a map open on his lap. He's finding the coordinates with a ruler while Maria sits in the back, holding the flashlight for him, leaning over the front seat.

"Okay, here's where Dad went," Sam says. "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."

"Sounds charming," Dean says. "How far?"

"About six hundred miles," Sam replies.

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning," Maria supplies. Sam looks back at her, hesitating.

"Maria, I, um…"

"You're not going," Maria says. It isn't a question; she already knows the answer, but had been hoping for a different one after all they had been through in the last few days.

"The interview's in like, ten hours," Sam tries to justify himself. "I gotta be there."

Dean and Maria just nod. They're disappointed that Sam hadn't jumped at the chance to join them, but they aren't surprised. Hunting had never really been something Sam enjoyed like they had. They thought it was a shame that Sam didn't enjoy hunting; he was good at it.

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever. We'll take you home," Dean says, trying to hide his disappointment. Maria clicks off the flashlight.

* * *

They pull up in front of Sam's apartment a couple hours later. Dean and Maria are still frowning in disappointment. Sam gets out of the Impala and leans in the window, looking at his older siblings.

"Call me if you find him?" Sam asks, trying not to disappoint them further. "And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?"

"Yeah, all right," Maria and Dean say in chorus. Sam pats the passenger side door twice and turns to walk back toward his apartment. Dean leans toward the passenger door, slinging his right arm over the back of the seat. Maria leans out of the way just in time. She lets out a little irritated noise.

"Sam?" Dean says, stopping him. Sam turns around. "You know, we made a hell of a team back there, the three of us."

"Yeah," Sam says. Maria gets out of the back of the Impala. She hugs her little brother quickly before getting into the front seat. Dean and Maria drive off. Sam sighs as he watches them go. He lets himself into the apartment. Everything is dark and quiet.

"Jess?" Sam calls, closing the front door behind him. "You home?"

Sam sees a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen table with a note that says "Missed you! Love you!" sitting next to a _National Geographic_ magazine. Sam picks up a cookie and eats it, sneaking into the bedroom, smiling to himself. He hears the shower running as he sits on the bed, shutting his eyes and flopping comfortably onto his back.

Something drips onto Sam's forehead. He flinches as one drop and then another land on his face. He opens his eyes and gasps in horror. Jess is pinned to the ceiling, staring down at him, her stomach gashed open. The drops on his face were blood, her blood.

"No!" Sam yells as Jess bursts into flames, the fire from her body spreading across the ceiling. Dean kicks open the front door, Maria following close behind him.

"Sam!" they say in unison, rushing to find him.

"Jess!" Sam yells, shielding his face with his arm. Dean and Maria come rushing into the bedroom.

"Sam!" Maria shouts, an edge of panic in her voice. "Sam!"

Maria and Dean look up and see Jess, pinned to the ceiling, barely visible through the flames surrounding her body.

"No! No!" Sam howls, half sobbing. Dean grabs Sam and shoves him out the door, Maria putting a comforting hand on her baby brother's back as they rush out of the room. Sam struggles against them all the way. "Jess! Jess! No!"

Dean and Maria look at the burning apartment as a fire truck parks outside. Firefighters try to control the blaze as the police keep onlookers from coming too close to the burning building. Maria and Dean walk back to the Impala. Sam is standing behind the open trunk, his face a mask of anger, loading a shotgun. They look warily at the trunk, then at Sam. He looks up at his siblings, sighs, then nods, tossing the shotgun into the trunk.

"We got work to do," Sam says, shutting the trunk of the Impala with a bang.


End file.
